Please forgive me, but this is the first of three gripes I have about why Hopwood is turning into a “shanty town” – and it is because Bromsgrove councillors continue to turn it into one.

Firstly, to alleviate the parking of lorries in the verges next to Hopwood service station, where ample, purpose-built overnight parking is already available, I suggest the council should introduce double yellow or red lines, fine offending vehicles on the verges and move them on to where they already should be: Hopwood services.

Why build a free lorry park? Is the council funding this – if so, this is our money paying for yet something else local residents do not want?

Second gripe: Yet another car boot sale pops up out of nowhere – no planning permission needed in the short term, I know, but placing signs without planning permission carries a £1,000 fine for each, if the council would like to implement this power. This overnight, no-warning event is again affecting local residents of Hopwood, in particular on Lea End Lane.

Third gripe: Lea End Lane is no longer a peaceful country lane due to the council allowing a local farmer to turn Green Belt land into a dump without listening to objections from residents about any planned change of use, of which notification would have been useful.

This site has continued to grow and the council continues to ignore complaints from residents on Lea End Lane, many of whom were never informed or even made aware of the activities of this site.

Can someone let us know what plans have been allowed, because constant phone calls and complaints over the past two years to the council are fobbed off or totally ignored?

Annoyed and flat-headed (from constant banging of head against the wall!) resident of Lea End Lane